Shoe and innersole and method of producing them



OCL 31, 1944 w KNlPE 2,361,693

SHOE AND INNERSOLE AND METHOD OF PRODUCING THEM Filed Sept. 6, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet l In venion' Oct. 31', 1944. -w KNIPE 2,361,693

SHOE AND INNERSOLEAND METHOD OF PRODUCING THEM Filed Sept. 6, 1943 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Oct. 31, 1944 SHOE AND INNEltSOLE AND METHOD OF PRODUOING THEM e y William L. Knipe, Haverhill, "Massl; assignor to KnipeBros. Inc., Haverhill, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts Application September 6, 1943, Serial No. 591,383

7 Claims; 36522) This invention relates to shoes and innersoles therefor.

The Knipe Patent skived or channeled to form a commercially useable sewing lip or rib for attachment to the shoe upper. The sewing lip i provided by a sheet of canvas or other suitable woven fabric, consisting of two canvas or equivalentlaminations bonded together and adhesively afiixed to the outersole side of the leather sheet except at the margin of its fore and shank part where the margin of thelaminated sheet is bent away from the leather sheet to provide the sewing lip. All ,sheets are further attached together by a line ;of stitches through the sheets at the base of the sewing lip.

This innersole is more flexible than one made of leather thick enough to have an integral channeled sewing lip and promotes exceptionable beyond the flexibility of the shoe containing it normal service requirements.

Theleather sheet canbe a so-called split and sometimes at least theforepart thereof has adhesively affixed to the inner or exposed face thereof a thin limp higher grade leather sheet I constituting a sock lining. Such a composite in- ;nersolesometimes shows wrinkles in and transversely of the sock lining when the shoe is flexed,

especially beyond its maximum flexure when on the foot.

It is an object of the present invention to reducethe tendency toward wrinkle formation in the flexed innersole constructed as above described and to permit increased bending of a shoehaving the innersole without the showing of wrinkles on the inner exposed face of the sock lining.

While the innersole without the sock lining: usually is free from objectionable wrinkles when sharply bent about the ball line, there can be, nevertheless, a tendency toward wrinkle formation and it is an object of this invention to reduce this tendency in an innersole construction of the Knipe patent type.

It is also an object of this invention to so arrange the parts of the Knipe patent type of innersole, both with and without the sock lining,

.that the flexibility and wrinkle-free properties v are obtained without tendency other directions.

to distortion in I I have discovered that a cause for the wrinkling of the exposed face of the innersole or the sock lining'thereof is the fabric .sheet and its No. 1,144,420, issued June 29, 1915, disc1oses an innersole composed of a leather sheet uniformly thin andvtoo thin to be the fabric sheet while all are flexed or bent, I

. them.

. distance from the exposed surface. The fabric sheet is; inextensible and is fixedly attached to the leather sheet. When the innersole is flexed with'the leather sheet in the inside of the curve of flexure, the fabric sheet restrains the leather sheet from shifting its position relatively thereto and hence places the leather sheet under compression-so that wrinkles can form in the inner face thereof'where the compression is highest.

I reduce the tendencytoward wrinkling by firmly combining the sock lining with the lamihated innersole only while both are flexed, pref- ,erablyto as great adegree as the shoe having the innersole will be flexed :in demonstration.

. Thuseachpiece is free to flex without control by any other piece. Such amethod of making the innersole constitute an object of the present invention. A i

While I; can combine firmly all three sheets, that is, the sock lining, the leather sheet, and

prefer, whenthe leather sheet is thin enough and of suitable grade not to wrinkle when combined with the fabric sheet and bent; to combine the leather and fabric sheets by an adhesive and also by. stitching while both sheetsare flat and to, bend the combined sheets for combination with the bent sock lining as the inherent resiliency. of the flat. combined sheets tends to flatten the sock lining. Thus the composite innersole tends to lie flatter than would otherwise be thecase and packing-0f such innersoles and the lasting thereof is facilitated. Such a procedure is also an object of the invention.

A further object is generally'to improve upon shoes and innersoles and methods of making In the accompanying drawings: Fig. 1 is a top plan view of an innersole, without a sock lining, embodying features of the invention; a

i Fig. 21s a similar view looking at the under or outersole side of the innersole of Fig. 1;

Fi 3 is a cross sectional View on the line 3-3 orrignfl,

Fig. 4 is a. top plan view of an innersole like that of Fig. 1 buthaving a sock lining at the forepart of the innersole;

Fig.. 5. 1's aside elevation looking at the edge of the innersole of Fig.4;'. 1

Fig. 6 a cross sectional view on line B6 of; Fig. 4 l Fig. 7- is a side elevation of a press illustrating how the composite sheets may be combined while provided with forepart curvature according to the present invention;

Fig. 8 is a perspective of a shoe with a portion broken away to illustrate the wrinkling or puckering interiorly of a shoe embodying a composite innersole made according to prior practices;

Fig. 9 is a similar view of a shoe embodying an innersole made according to the present invention, and showing absence of Wrinkles when the shoe is flexed as in use;

Fig. 10 is a cross sectional view through the forepart of a shoe embodying my improved innersole, in the region of the ball line thereof; and

Fig. 11 is a detail cross-sectional view of the right hand portion of Fig. 10, on a larger scale.

Referring to the drawings, the innersole of my invention comprises a thin body sheet I0 this leather body sheet is secured a backing sheet 12 which comprises two thicknesses of suitable fabric, particularly canvas or duck cemented together as described in the Knipe patent and also cemented to the leather body sheet throughout approximately the full area of the innersole and also stitched as at M to the leather body sheet all around the margin of the forepart and through the shank region at the edge of the innersole. The uncemented marginal portion of the backing sheet is turned away from the leather body sheet as at [B at the stitching to constitute an attaching or sewing lip or rib I6 by which the innersole may be secured to the upper and welt of a shoe.

Some innersoles are incorporated in shoes without a sock lining and some have a sock lining I8 cemented to the forepart of the inner face of the leather sheet In concealing the stitches M, the lining sheet l8 usually being a thin limp leather sheet.

The leather and fabric sheets Ill and I2 preferably are adhesively bonded firmly together while both are fiat and free from flexure and are stitched together by the stitching [4 prior to combining with the sock lining l8 when the leather sheet I0 is of such grade and thinness that deleterious wrinkles are absent in its inner face when the shoe having such innersole is flexed in use or in demonstration.

The sock lining is combined with the united leather and fabric sheets l0 and [2 while both the lining sheet and the united sheets are in a curved or bent condition that preferably is the maximum bend of the shoe in demonstration which is considerably greater than the bend of the shoe in service on the foot. The combining is done between cooperatively curved parts or jaws and 22 of a mold having appropriate curvature, the sock lining sheet 18 being innermost of the curve as illustrated in Fig. 7. Any suitable adhesive or bonding agent is employed. It can be applied to the face ofthe lining sheet in the mold and the bent composite attached sheets Ill and 12 brought in contact therewith or the flat lining sheet may be adhesively applied to the flat leather sheet [0 andthen all placed in the mold before the adhesive has set so that the sheets can shift freely relatively to each other before the adhesive sets. The sheets remain in the mold until the adhesive has set and bonded the sock lining sheet firmly to the leather sheet.

When the innersole is removed from the mold the previously fiat-united leather and fabric sheets I0 and I2 tend to re-assume their flat form thereby causing the composite innersole to lie flatter than it would otherwise lie so that packing prior to lasting, and lasting in the shoe, is facilitated.

When lasted flat in a shoe the sock lining is under tension and the tension in the exposed face disappears only when the shoe is bent into the configuration of the mold and the shoe can be bent considerably further in the same direction before the exposed face of the sock lining is placed under sufficient compression by the inextensible fabric sheet l2 to cause the formation of wrinkles.

When the leather sheet In is of such character that if combined flat with the canvas sheet, wrinkles could form on its inner face, it alone is combined firmly with the canvas sheet in the mold, remaining therein until the adhesive bonding it to the canvas sheet becomes set. It is then removed from the mold and the stitching l4 put in while the combined sheets are in the somewhat flattened but still prominently curved condition they assume when removed from the mold, the stitching being applied by a sewing machine having a usual presser foot that is short lengthwise of the stitch line. If such a leather sheet is also to have a sock lining therein, the lining preferably is applied as above described after the leather and fabric sheets have been adhesively united in the mold and stitched together.

Both forms of innersole as above described are applied to the bottom of the last in the customary manner, the upper 26 is stitchedto the sewing lip l6, surplus edge material at the lip is trimmed off, the usual filler 21 is provided, the

out sole 28 is applied and, in general, the shoe is built as heretofore.

When the innersole is applied to the last it is flattened out ofits normal somewhat arcuate configuration. Thusthe sock lining sheet and also the leather sheet II) or at least the inner face of the latter, is placed under tension while the fabric sheet tends to be compressed. Any shortening of the length of the fabric sheet under compression is absorbed by a loosening of the weave of the fabric between the high surface parts of the weave bonded adhesively to the leather sheet without formation of wrinkles although presence of wrinkles in the fabric sheet in the shoe is not harmful. Flexing of the shoe merely takes up the looseness of weave without opposition to flexureup to the degree of bend provided by the mold. Increase of bend beyond this amount is resisted by the fabric. The tensioned condition of the inner face of the leather sheet, and of the sock lining, result in a particularly smooth appearance thereofin the unfiexed shoe.

The use of a thin leather sheet It reduces the tendency toward wrinkle formation since by the use of such a thin sheet the inner face thereof and the line of the fabric sheet are close together so that the leverage of the fabric sheet on the inner face is small. A leather sheet that is uniformly thin throughout, that is to say. is

free from localized depressions or protuberances, has uniform action under fiexure throughout permitting easy extreme wrinkle-free flexure free from tendency toward unwanted distortion.

The mold in which the laminations of the innersole are compressed can be of any type holding the laminations close together under substantial pressure until the adhesive has set. The mold can have cooperating jaws that are separated and brought upon the innersole by mechanical elements or one of the jaws can be an inflatable bag of the general type common in the shoe art.

'1 claim:

l. The improvement in innersoles Which comprises firmly affixing a flat leather sheet of innersole configuration that is uniformly thin and too thin to be channeled to form a useable sewing lip to a flat fabric sheet also of sole configuraticn having a marginal portion in the fore and shank parts of the sole upturned to provide a sewing lip, stitching the flat sheets together by a line of stitching connecting both sheets at the base of the sewing lip, bending the flat combined sheets out of their flat plane and into a curve which exists at least in thefore part of the innersole and with the inner face of the leather sheet on the inside of the curve, and firmly afiixing a thin sock lining sheet to the fore part of the leather sheet while both are in curved condition with the sock lining sheet bein innermost of the curve and over the stitches.

2. An innersole comprising a leather sheet of sole configuration too thin to be channeled to form a sewing rib thereof, a fabric sheet of sole configuration adhesively aflixed to the thin 7 leather sheet and having a free marginal portion outstanding from the marginal portion of the leather sheet and constituting a sewing rib, a

said leather and fabric sheets in the flat innersole being free from tension and the sock lining being under tension.

3. A two-ply innersole consisting of adhesively and mechanically attached leather and fabric sheets characterized by ability to flex into a position wherein the forepart of the innersole is at right angles to the rear part with the leather sheet innermost without the formation of wrinkles on the inner face of the leather sheet, said leather sheet being uniformly thin throughout its extent and so thin that it cannot be channeled to form a useable sewing rib, said fabric sheet being adhesively affixed to the leather sheet except at the marginal forepart which is turned out and constitutes the sewing lip for the innersole, the inner face of th leather sheet being under tension and the outer face thereof and the fabric sheet being under compression when the innersole is flat, the leather sheet being thin and the inner face thereof being so close to the inextensible fabric sheet that the innersole can be flexed into th aforesaid condition without placing the inner face of the leather sheet under sufficient compression to cause wrinkling.

4. The method of making an innersole comprising the steps of providing a leather sheet of sole configuration too thin to be channeled to form a sewing rib thereon and a fabric backing sheet of sole configuration, superimposing the sheets one on the other, bending the superimposed sheets transversely of the innersole with the leather sheet on the inner side of the bend, adhesively securing them together while they are held in the said bent condition, and then stitching the two sheets together by a line of stitching passed through both sheets at the base of the sewing rib.

5. The method of making an innersole comprising a leather sheet having a thin leather sock lining on at least the forepart of the inner face thereof and a fabric sheet on and coextensive with the opposite face except at the forepart where the marginal portion of the fabric sheet outstands and constitutes a sewing lip, said method consisting in stitching together the leather and fabric sheets prior to the application of the sock lining by a line of stitching passed through both sheets at the base of the sewing 'lip, bending the sock lining and attached sheets while free from firm attachment to each other and adhesively firmly uniting the sock lining to the combined sheets which all are in bent condition.

6. A composite innersole comprising a plurality of superimposed flexible sheet elements each having uniform thickness throughout its extent, two of said sheet elements being combined at the forepart of the innersole and flexed transversely of the innersole, and there being cement securing said sheet elements together at the forepart and tending to maintain their said transversely flexed condition, whereby the exposed concave surface of one of said elements is in condition to be tensioned to a considerable extent when the composite innersole is brought to a flat condition, said composite innersole having a fabric lip stitched thereto around the margin of its forepart for attachment of the innersole to the upper and welt of a shoe.

'7. A composite innersole comprising a flexible body sheet of uniform thickness and a fabric backing sheet combined and cemented together i and stitched together around the margin of the forepart and shank regions, said cement and stitching tending to maintain the combined sheets in mutually flat condition, and a thin facing sheet for the exposed side of the body sheet, said facing sheet being applied and cemented to the body sheet with the cement tending to maintain them flexed transversely of the innersole with the exposed surface of the facing sheet concave, whereby in the fiat condition of the composite innersole, said facing sheet is under considerable tension, and the marginal portions of said backing sheet outside of said marginal stitching being bent away from the body sheet to constitute an attaching lip for securement of the innersole in a shoe.

WILLIAM L. KNIFE. 

